MEDWAY - The School Committee approved a $24,586,713 budget Thursday, which included reducing the price of tuition for its full-day kindergarten program from $3,475 to $2,475.The district also offers a free half-day kindergarten program, but parents at a public hearing in February said they want the district to consider providing a free, full-day kindergarten program.At a school committee meeting last month, a subcommittee charged with exploring tuition-free full-day options came up with an idea to fund the program, part of which involves using school choice funds and reserves to fund the $381,405 program, but the committee was wary of depleting the reserves in the event they would be needed.The option, first discussed Wednesday during a joint meeting with the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee and School Committee, would reduce the total proposed operating budget by only $130.The option includes withdrawing fiscal 2015 proposals for a human resources coordinator and an enhanced special education professional development program.Both are not in the current year’s budget, so no actual cuts would be made, he said.A sliding scale was also considered, which would have set tuition expenses based on the family size and household income. For example, tuition is free for a household of four with a combined income of $30,615.On the flip side, if a family of five has a combined income is $111,661 or higher, they would pay the full tuition.But due to that option’s uncertainties, most of the discussion focused around the reduced-price tuition.Some expressed doubt that the $100,000 or so in tuition the district wouldn’t receive wasn’t worth it if only a small number of students transitioned to the full-day program.Chairwoman Carole Bernstein said taking away the proposed human resources position out of next year’s budget to help fund the program might not be worth reducing tuition costs."It keeps teachers happy," she said of the position. "One of my concerns all along is that we are giving up $100,000 not knowing whether we’ve truly made a difference for those families."Committee members Richard Eustis and Dawn Norton, who made up the full-day kindergarten subcommittee, said even if there is not a large amount of students making the switch to full-day, the move is a step in the right direction and the district can begin to plan on offering free tuition in a few years."Even if there’s no enrollment effect, we’re moving closer to the goal," Eustis said.Norton turned the discussion away from finances and said the main reason the committee has been considering tuition-free full-day kindergarten was an "educational reason.""Even if it only nets us 15 more kids, it’s a plus," she said.Zachary Comeau can be reached at 508-634-7556 and zcomeau@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZComeau_MDN.